Football is the world’s most followed sport, and there is a reason why almost a billion people are so fascinated. Despite being a contact sport, the beauty of the game lies in the art that all the footballers so passionately express. Other than the obvious awe-inspiring goals,assists, and penalties, free-kicks have always been the thrill factor, because it simply excites the fans all over the globe.
The fact that free-kick is a technique that not only needs power, accuracy, and the precision but also that unique x-factor. Anybody who has passion and vision for the sport can become a footballer, but not everybody can take free-kicks, one needs to be a specialist to be able to score or assist consistently. Goalkeepers tend to be clever and thus are not easily shocked, they maintain focus on the ball while orchestrating the defense. Goalies also try to go beyond to stop any effort towards the goal. Generally one either opts to curl or power a free-kick to nail it for certain. Additionally, there are two types of free-kicks – direct and indirect free-kicks.
(Video: YouTube/JackieMT 2nd)
Do you know the difference between a direct and an indirect free-kick?
A direct free-kick is the result of a foul committed by the defending team, thus the referees give the attacking team an advantage while restarting the game. Elsewhere, an indirect free-kick is given when the defending team commits an infringement or a not so serious foul inside the penalty box.
The attacking team can choose to target the goal while taking a direct free-kick but that not the case in an indirect free-kick, as then the player needs to pass the ball first in order to take an aim at the goal. While direct free-kicks are mostly deliberate fouls such as a sliding tackle or a bad block, but in the case of an indirect free-kick, the incidents are usually due to a mistake with no purpose or intent behind it. Whatever be the case, football fans are always keen on watching free-kicks, it the sheer challenge that seems to attract the people.
